World War Online
by Filius Hibernia et Germania
Summary: World War Online was supposed to be the greatest military VRMMORPG devised, but it was soon revealed to be a death trap. Now Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya as he fights for not only his life and his sanity, but for the fate of millions including the love of his life. And he must do this one battle at a time. - AU


**A/N: In light of recent reviews and my own writers block I've decided to rewrite the prologue of my story. So let's consider the original prologue as preproduction demo. Now onto the disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online if I did Sugou would've been a stiff at the end of the ALO arc, and the Moonlit Black Cats would've had more significance besides being a reason for Kirito to isolate himself.**

Prologue: From the Ashes

"Heroism is not something one is simply born with. It is trait that is acquired when circumstance forces oneself to look fate in the eye and say: 'Do your worst!'"

Minetaka Kirigaya, step-father of Kazuto Kirigaya

It had been about a year since the one man Kazuto looked up was taken from him. A year since he heard the news that his uncle Minetaka, the man who meant the world to him, had been killed in action. Before he died Minetaka was a history professor at the local university and the one person Kazuto could count on to be there for him. He had always looked up to his uncle and adoptive father as a role model and now he was gone.

He could still remember the last conversation he had with him before his passing. It was a few weeks after Kazuto was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in middle school. Noticing the stress his nephew had just dealing with the new diagnosis, Minetaka took Kazuto aside one evening to discuss it. "Kazuto I want you to remember that your aunt and I will always be here for you. Believe me, you are not the first time I've seen this in a person. During my teaching career I had a fair share of students with your condition. Like you they were smart and incredibly talented, yet they were also awkward and had a hard time expressing themselves. Of those I've seen many went on to succeed in their fields while others let themselves fall under the stress their condition brought them. But know this my son, your condition is a gift, not a curse. There are those who will stand in your way; those who will try to put you down in life, but they do not matter for you are strong Kazuto like your father was before you. I know you will make us proud."

That was the last conversation Kazuto remembered having with his uncle before he was drafted into the Self Defence Force to fight in the 2nd Korean War. His uncle was killed saving the life of an American soldier when their convoy was ambushed by the remnants of the shattered People's Army of Korea at a checkpoint outside of the ruined capital of Pyongyang. Kazuto could still remember the tears that rolled down the faces of his mom and his sister at the funeral while he stood there, silent, watching as they lowered his casket into the ground. When the funeral ended a tall bespectacled man in an officers uniform, who Kazuto could only guess was one of the men his father served with, came up to him.

"Mr. Kirigaya? I am Major Seijirou Kikuoka, I was your father's commanding officer in Korea. I can't convey how sorry I am for your loss, your father was one of the greatest men I had ever served with during my time in the military. He was always proud of you, he went on constantly about how talented you were with computers and how he took pride in the fact that you loved history as much as he did." As he continued, he pulled out a small envelope and handed it to the grieving teen. "When we deployed your father gave me this in case something were to happen to him. I give this to you in fulfillment of his dying wish. I know not what it contains, but I hope whatever it is, it will give you some comfort. If you need someone to talk to here's the address to my office and my phone number feel free to drop by or call whenever you need to. I know how hard it is to lose someone especially a close friend like Minetaka, I only hope you don't have to go through all of this alone like I had to on the frontlines. I guess this is goodbye for now Kazuto, and again I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you sir." Kazuto whispered under his breath

As the officer walked away Kazuto looked down at the envelope in his hands. Scrawled on the front of it were the words "To Kazuto, from Minetaka." He slipped the envelope into his jacket's pocket deciding he would open it when the time was right. He said one more goodbye to his uncle – no his father before walking out of the cemetery as the rain began to fall, masking the tears on his face.

When Kazuto got home that night he wandered into his father's study. Moving over to the desk he was about to place the envelope that was given to him in one of the drawers when he heard a noise behind him. Turning around he saw his adoptive mother, Midori, standing in the doorway, a look of concern gracing her face. She had noticed Kazuto placing the envelope in the drawer but decided to not mention it at the moment. "How are you holding up Kazuto, I know this must be tough for you losing yet another parent," she stated trying to hold back the tears.

"I'm fine mom, I just need some time by myself," Kazuto said leaving little emotion in his response.

Midori had noticed the tone of his response, and decided it would be best to grant him his request. "Okay, but if you need anything just ask me. You don't have to do this alone," and with that she slipped out of the room on the way to her own. As she walked down the hallway she thought, _'I hope he will be all right, for his sake and for our family's I pray he comes to us for help." _

For the next couple of months he spent his time in isolation. When he wasn't at school he was usually locked away in his room. It was during this time he had picked up a new pastime, playing VRMMOs. For Kazuto they acted as a sort of coping mechanism by allowing him to simply escape from the harsh realities of our world into an entirely different where death meant either having to respawn elsewhere or simply losing a few items. For Kazuto VRMMOs were a sort of cyber paradise, that is until today.

Today was perhaps the happiest day Kazuto had in months. Earlier that morning he had received a package in the mail the contents of which contained the game disks and updated Nerve Gear for the new World War Online MMO. A few months earlier he had been one of fifty- thousand beta testers for the game and he could not wait to return to the battlefield. Kazuto took the package into his room and then proceeded to install and set up the game and Nerve Gear.

During his haste Kazuto failed to notice the envelope on his desk. Unfortunately it would be too late as he put on the Nerve Gear and activated the voice command login: "Link START!" Soon the room fell silent as the Nerve Gear activated leaving Kazuto lying still in his room as the letter lies unopened on the desk inscribed with the words "To Kazuto, from Minetaka."


End file.
